SHELBY TOWNSHIP, Michigan – A Houston man arrested in Michigan on accusations he killed two people at a car dealership was out on bond for other violent crimes in Harris County, according to records, and allegedly left town to avoid showing up in court.
Terrance Jermain Sandals, 46, is in custody in Shelby Township, Michigan. He is charged with two counts of first-degree homicide as well as six counts of felon in possession of a firearm. He is being held without bond.
The fatal shooting happened on Friday, Nov. 7.
The murders and investigation
In a press conference, Shelby Township Police Chief Robert J. Shelide said they discovered two men shot inside the Star Auto Sales used car dealership. One of the men shot was the owner of the business. Both men were dead.
Officers found five 9mm shell casings inside the office as well as surveillance video which showed the suspect, who was wearing a mask, enter the business and shoot both men at point blank range. He then exited the business and walked away on foot. Shelide described him as walking away “very coolly.”
Detectives discovered a man had entered the business about three weeks before the murders, arguing and making threats toward the owner regarding the sale of a Hummer for $3,000.
"(The suspect) thought it was a lemon. They went back and forth arguing about it, and at a certain point he just dropped the vehicle off, correct, and just left it there," Shelide said.
Surveillance video from the time showed the man leaving in what was determined to be a rental vehicle.
Authorities spoke to the company who rented out the vehicle, which led them to the identity of the suspect.
Arrest of suspect
Detectives were able to locate the rental vehicle of the suspect at a hotel in Romulus, Michigan.
Search warrants were obtained for the vehicle and the location where the suspect was at the hotel.
Surveillance video from the hotel showed a man entering the hotel approximately one hour after the murders. He was reportedly wearing the same clothing and shoes as the description of the suspect in the murders.
Officers executed a no-knock warrant, entered the hotel room, and arrested Sandals. There was a handgun in Sandals bed along with another handgun found in a dresser. Cash that was allegedly stolen from the car dealership was also found.
Sandals’ criminal history
Sandles has been to Texas state prisons twice -- sentenced to 8 years in 1997 for burglary and sentenced to 10 years in 2007 for aggravated robbery.
In August of 2025, Sandles was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and retaliation in Harris County. He was released on a $200,000 bond for those charges about a week after being arrested.
Court records show within days of being released on bond, Sandles wasn’t following his bond conditions: he didn’t abide by 24-hour house arrest and eventually his GPS monitor was removed.
Sandles didn’t show up for court on Aug. 29, records show, and warrants for his arrest were issued.
He was also charged in September with assault of a family member connected to an incident in March 2025, but he was never arrested. He had been wanted in Texas since then.
“There’s an active felony warrant, so he was fleeing. All his crimes he’s committed in the past have all been in the Houston area, so when this new warrant for his arrest, which he’s aware of, we believe he came up to Michigan at that time,” Shelide said.